Battle of arms: New York attorney general asks court to dissolve National Rifle Association

The leadership of the National Rifle Association is accused of embezzling funds from charitable contributions. The money was spent on luxury travel and millions in salaries, as well as on tax fraud. As a result, the organization lost more than $ 63 million in three years. The Attorney General of New York decided to sue the participants in this scheme and dissolve NRA. The edition writes about it CNN.

Attempt to dissolve the NRA

New York Attorney General Laetitia James has announced that she will try to dissolve the National Rifle Association (NRA). She accused senior management of the organization of violating laws governing nonprofit groups and using millions of dollars in reserves for personal gain and for tax fraud.

In a press release issued on August 8, James stated that the current and former leadership of the NRA "has implemented a culture of self-sacrifice of mismanagement that benefits ourselves, family, friends and some suppliers, resulting in the organization losing more than $ 63 million in three years." “The influence of the NRA was so strong that the organization was left out of control for decades, while senior executives poured millions into their own pockets,” James said, adding that her office would file a complaint with the IRS.

The lawsuit, filed with the New York Supreme Court, mentions the leaders of the NRA. These include Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, General Counsel and Secretary John Frazer, former CFO Wilson Woody Phillips and former Chief of Staff and Chief Executive Officer of General operations by Josh Powell.

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The Attorney General's Office said that although the NRA is headquartered in a suburb of Northern Virginia outside Washington, D.C., the organization has functioned since 1871 as a New York group, registered as 501 (c) (4).

In addition, on August 6, a separate lawsuit was filed against the NRA and the NRA Foundation, a separate entity, by Attorney General Karl Racine of Washington, DC. Racine claims that the fund's board allowed the NRA to raid its reserves to address the NRA's cash flow problems and finance the generous spending of its management.

How the NRA responded

The NRA filed a counterclaim in federal court, arguing that the attorney general obstructs the organization's right to free speech and that such action "threatens to destabilize the NRA."

NRA President Carolyn Meadows called the New York lawsuit "an unreasonable, deliberate attack on our organization and the freedoms it fights for under the Second Amendment."

On August 6, James said that claims that the lawsuit against the NRA was political were false. When asked why she is seeking to dissolve the organization, James replied: "The misuse of funds is not only a problem of top management, but also the failure of the entire organization to stop the looting of charitable assets."

The NRA, in turn, says that the organization has about 5 million members nationwide and works to defend the American right to bear arms under the Second Amendment. In recent years, the NRA has become increasingly politicized - it is worth noting that the current and former leadership of the NRA has enjoyed the favor of President Donald Trump.

What exactly is the NRA accused of

The lawsuit accuses the NRA of violating numerous laws, including false reporting of annual filings with the IRS and the New York bureau of charitable organizations, improper documenting of expenses, inappropriate reporting of wages and income taxes, and excessively high wages for people to do work. they were not qualified.

Many of these accusations stem from the NRA's status as a charitable organization subject to strict state and federal government spending rules.

The lawsuit also asks the court to oblige LaPierre and other leaders named in the lawsuit to fully reimburse the funds spent; remove LaPierre and Fraser from the leadership of the NRA; ensure that no executive is ever able to serve on the board of any charity in New York.

At Laetitia's Office, James confirmed that it has been investigating the NRA since 2019. The investigation was launched after The Trace reported that a small group of executives, contractors and vendors associated with the group had pulled hundreds of millions from the nonprofit's budget.

The lawsuit also alleges that NRA executives used millions of dollars from the group's reserves to fund private jet travel, food and other personal expenses. It is also alleged that LaPierre selected assistants who could "contribute to his abuse of charitable assets."

In addition, as stated in the lawsuit, LaPierre entered into a "poison pill contract" totaling $ 17 million and that there is no evidence that the board or the NRA's audit committee considered or approved the deal. The contract obliges the NRA to pay LaPierre remuneration for many years "at a higher rate than his remuneration as executive vice president."

LaPierre was removed from office in June and testified, saying he was aware of this aspect of the contract. “I did not ask for this contract. It was brought to me and I signed it, but it never came into force because I remained in the position of (executive vice president), ”commented LaPierre.

LaPierre, the lawsuit alleges, spent millions of NRA funds on private air travel for himself and his family - he flew to the Bahamas alone eight times in five years. And he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to organize a safari for his wife in Africa and other parts of the world.

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In his testimony in June, LaPierre noted that in accordance with NRA policy, he constantly travels in private jets for security reasons.

He also called this lawsuit an attempt to "destroy the NRA." “The NRA is well managed, financially sound and committed to good governance,” explained LaPierre.

Powell, who is also mentioned in the lawsuit, received a pay raise at LaPierre's direction. In less than three years, his wages were tripled. The lawsuit also alleges that he obtained contracts for the benefit of family members, without disclosing that they were his relatives.

Fraser, who is the NRA's general counsel, has been in private practice as an attorney for only 18 months. It allowed the organization to secretly pay millions of dollars to several board members in the form of consulting agreements that were not approved or disclosed to the board of directors.

LaPierre hired Phillips, who worked as treasurer for 26 years until his retirement in 2018. During his tenure, the lawsuit claims, he knew that the NRA pays more than $ 100 a year for the services of a "travel consultant". This specialist worked without a contract or permission from the President of the NRA. His task was to organize travel for LaPierre. In 2018, the woman, whose name has not been released, earned $ 2,6 million in this position.

Difficult times for the organization

The NRA counterclaims claim that James is keeping his campaign promises. She even earlier promised to "strike at the NRA and force the NRA to comply."

In the suit, the NRA denies James' claims that senior management used the organization as a "personal piggy bank."

The NRA also denies claims by the attorney general that it is in financial deficit due to abuses by senior management and claims to have cooperated in good faith with an investigation that began in 2019.

The New York attorney general's suit marks a turbulent period for the nation's arms lobby. In the past year, the organization has been engulfed in a bitter struggle for leadership as it has been guided by the changing political landscape in regards to weapons shaped by mass gunfire and increasingly powerful gun safety groups.

In 2018, the NRA appointed Oliver North, whose name is synonymous with the Iran-Contra scandal (a major US political scandal in the second half of the 1980s - Ed.), To the presidency. At the time, the NRA was trying to regain control of the gun.

But when the organization met for its 2019 annual meeting, LaPierre told the NRA board that North was forcing him to resign.

The NRA later re-elected LaPierre to the leadership position after North told the members of the organization (in a letter read out during their annual meeting) that he hoped to be re-nominated for a second term, but has since been "informed that this will not happen." ...

It was during these riots that the New York Attorney General's Office confirmed an investigation into the group. "As part of this investigation, the attorney general issued a subpoena," said spokesman Laetitia James.